Lake Hopatcong's disappearing boathouses take regional history with them

LAKE HOPATCONG -- The boathouses that dot the shoreline of Lake
Hopatcong are remnants of a glorious past, a time when the rich, the famous and
tourists by the tens of thousands migrated to the resort area each
summer.

By turns modest and opulent, the structures
served as a gateway to New Jersey’s largest lake for millionaires, celebrities,
politicians and middle-class Americans from across the country.

But like the gilded hotels and mansions that
succumbed to fire, neglect and development over the years, the boathouses of
Lake Hopatcong are in danger of fading into history, and with them, local
officials fear, will go some of the region’s rich past.

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The Morris County Endangered Sites Committee —
which draws members from several historical and preservation groups, along with
the county tourism bureau — characterizes the boathouses as overlooked treasures
in need of protection. Over the summer, the committee added the boathouses
collectively to its annual list of the 10 most endangered sites.

"Development, teardowns and updates to
properties along the shoreline over the last two decades has altered the
shorescape, despite efforts by the local historic community to document historic
structures and resist inappropriate changes," the committee said in its report.
"The historic boathouses on Lake Hopatcong should be formally recognized,
protected and saved so that future lake residents and visitors may experience
the nostalgia they represent."

Marty Kane, president of the Lake Hopatcong
Historical Museum, said he believes the authors engaged in a bit of hyperbole in
their report, but he doesn’t dispute that some boathouses are falling victim to
the high costs of maintenance and rehabilitation.

"The money is what scares us," Kane said.
"We’ve lost boathouses that way."

Like the one belonging to George G. Green, a
Civil War colonel known as the "patent medicine king" for the fortune he made
selling medical cure-alls. Green built a large home on the lake, calling the
mansion Kil Kare Castle. The boathouse that accompanied it survived until last
year, when it succumbed to the elements and neglect.

A necessity before roads were popularized, the
boathouses gave character to the lake and sometimes revealed the character of
their owner.

Hudson Maxim, a famed inventor who lived in
Hopatcong Borough, was known for his eccentric personality. His boathouse was
the height of grandeur, a Venetian-style building as unique as its owner.

"It dominated the lake," Kane said. "It was
built like a fortress."

The castle-like structure was torn down in the
late 1950s, a period when several boathouses steeped in history were destroyed,
sunk into disrepair or altered beyond recognition.

In that respect, the boathouses mirrored the
resort’s fortunes. From the 1880s to the 1930s, Lake Hopatcong thrived, sporting
more than 40 hotels. Within two decades, all but two major hotels were gone,
casualties of the Depression and fire.

Judith Shustin appreciates what’s been lost.
Year after year, she watched the Kil Kare Castle boathouse sink deeper and
deeper into disrepair.

"It’s really a shame," she said.

Shustin has called the lake home all her life.
She grew up in the Lotta Crabtree house, named for the turn-of-the-century
actress who owned it. Shustin now lives with her husband, Stanley, whose parents
owned the Hotel Bon Air and Cottages. The 33-room hotel was one of the last
thriving vacation spots on the lake.

The Shustins sold the Bon Air in 1960 but
remain on the property. They rent out their one-bedroom boathouse.

Judith Shustin said she’s proud the boathouse
retains its old charm and that little about it has changed in the last half
century. Boaters can still see the words "Bon Air" written on the
side.

Carol Kitchin, too, takes pride in her
boathouse, which once belonged to the Breslin Hotel.

The Breslin, built in 1886, was designed by
noted architect Frank Furness. It was the largest hotel ever built on the lake.
It was also the first to have electricity.

"The Breslin gave the lake credibility as a
result," Kane said.

The Breslin burned in 1948, but the steps
leading up to where it once stood, along with the decorative bannisters and
garden fountains, remain on the property.

As does the boathouse, which was converted
into a lake house. What was once a dock is now a living room. Kitchin and her
husband, Lloyd, bought the property in 1994 and lived in the boathouse for two
years while their new home was built.

When the couple put new siding on the
boathouse, Carol Kitchin wanted to preserve what she could of the building’s
original feel.

"The biggest concern is that we would lose the
character of it," she said. "It’s a vintage building."

Kitchin half-jokingly said her husband would
tear the boathouse down if he could because of the maintenance it requires. She
won’t let him.

"I don’t think there is anything like this,"
she said. "When you are up at the house, you observe the lake. When you are down
here, you are part of the lake."

Star-Ledger staff writer Mark Mueller contributed
to this report.

BY DAN GOLDBERG, a reporter for the New Jersey Local News
Service. He may be reached at (908) 243-6235 or at
dgoldberg@njlns.com.